Smyrna times., 1887-04-20

presence. You would have Thought, with
only a wall separating them, that they
must have heard or scented each other.
The fact that they did not was probably
owing to the excitement under which
they labored.
By and by the lion was almost at the
end of the wall, and near enough for his
spring. He crOuched down, switched his
tail in a menacing way, and plainly saw
his talOns dig into the earth as he gathered
his muscles for a great effort While
there was a settled determination ON his
part TO make food of me, there was a
certain trepidation in his general de-
meanOr. 1t was plain that he was mysti-
fled, but his ferocious nature prevailed.
The tiger kept abreast Of the lion, and
he was the first to take the alarm. He
evidently scented the lion, for he reared
up, snufIed the air, and then flung out a
paw and spat like an angry cat This
noise startled the lion, and he rose up,
showed his teeth and took his eyes off me
for the first time. Either animal could
easily have leaped the wall, but neither
attempted it. The tiger took on fiercer
look and dropped some of his stealth, but
the lion reached the end of the wall first,
uttering q roar of defiance and evidently
expecting to meet an enemy. The tiger
was four or five feet from the end of the
wall, and the move he made was so quick
that my eyes could not follow it. AS the
lions head showed around the wall the
big cat made lightning spring, and the
next instant the two were rolling over
and over at my feet, fighting as only such
beasts can fight, and growing IN q man
ner to make my hair turn gray. It was
fhov, 1,of cfwo
I rose up, but instead of rushing away
ran back into the building. Reaching the
rear wall | stood there q prisoner and a
spectator. The first clinch lasted about
three minutes, and was characterized
by such ferOcity as l cannot de-
scribe. While the lion and the tiger
are probably natural enemies, suppose
the fact that both had planned to make
meat of me, and both felt themselves dis
appointed, aroused all their ferocity. Most
Of the time during the first clinch they
were rolling over and over like q big ball.
tearing, biting and growing, and the
movements of the tiger were much the
quickest. They finally separated, each
backed of few feet and each stood broad
side to me. / could see half dozen blood
stains on the lions side, while the tiger
had been terribly bitten about the neck.
and there was a bloody scratch on his
quarter. They faced each other for about
a minute, the lion roaring in deep bass
and the tiger snarling like an enraged cat.
Then, as swift as a dash of lightning, the
tiger bounded through space and alighted
on the lions back, and again they rolled
and tumbled about. The fight was too
fierce to be kept up long, and too deter
mined not to result in severe injuries.
When the beasts finally struggled to
their feet, the tiger had hold of the lion
just back Of the fore shoulder. and he
hung there and worried ths king as a dog
would q sheep. Twice the lion yelped ont
as if he had lost his courage, but he sud
denly made a grand exertion, broke the
tigers hold and then turned and caught
him by the neck. l thought all was over
with the cat. The lion actually lifted him
clear of the ground and shook him. and
this time the tiger whined After a bit.
however, he twisted his body around until
his hind claws came into play, and then
the lion had to let go. There was another
rest for minute or so, and again the tiger
was the aggressive party. This time thev
fought more like dogs, neither seeming
able to down the other, and they kept
working away from the building toward
the creek. l advanced as they retreated
and they were still doing their best to
destroy each other when they rolled off
the bank into the creek. Each was COW
cred with blood from nose to tail, and the
injuries inflicted must have been serious.
The tumble into the water separated them.
and while the tiger reached tho opposite
bank at one spot, the lion crawled out at
another thirty feet away, and both Iimped
into the forest without the slightest desire
to renew the fight-New York Sun.